The focus should never steer away from what is needed to be done in Syria. It is obvious what the direction needs to be as far as the future of the country is concerned. All the current steps therefore should facilitate a transition that would ensure stability, rule of law and wider public participation.
Syria's agreement with the mandate of the Arab League, which allows observers into the country, is a small but important step. It was necessary to avoid a tragic escalation of what is taking place in the country at present. An advance team will be in Syria today — it will be responsible for ensuring the regime's compliance with the League's plan to end political violence threatening the country's stability. The 12-member team will include legal, administrative, financial and human rights experts.
Yet putting matters into perspective, the arrival of the team is not an end in itself. Rather it is one step towards a whole series of measures that need to be adopted and followed by the government. As a matter of fact, the regime has to take realistic steps — ones that will convince all the concerned parties that it is indeed changing its line of thought and policy approach with regards to the protesters.
The state of dissent in the country cannot continue for long as there is a limit to what people can tolerate when their basic human rights are under attack. Hence, it is critical for the regime to realise that if matters are not addressed now, the turn of events could prove to be fatal and chaotic for the entire country.
Having said that, the Syrian people have voiced their demands to be part of the process for change. Hence, there is no option but to listen and accommodate the voice for change.
